Director’s cuts: Akira Kurosawa

Get to know the best of the Asian 'Emperor' who inspired countless Hollywood remakes

Born in 1910, Akira Kurosawa inherited his love for cinema from his brother Heigo, who worked as a 'benshi' (narrator/commentator) for foreign silent films. After a short career as a painter, he entered the Japanese film industry in 1936 and made his directorial debut (Sanshiro Sugata) seven years later. Until an accident confined him to a wheelchair in 1995, Kurosawa continued to make multi-genre films that have been more highly regarded in the West than his hometown Japan. His work has inspired countless Hollywood remakes that we call classics today. Cinema will always be indebted to 'The Emperor' – Akira Kurosawa.

Rashomon(1950)
Story: Different accounts of a murder and possible rape are recounted by a woodcutter, a priest and a commoner who are brought together by a downpour. Each version brings up more questions and by the end, we don't know what really happened.

By winning the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and an Academy Honourary award, Rashomon introduced Akira Kurosawa and Japanese cinema to western audiences.

Best Scene – The dead man's story (told through a medium).

Memorable quote – Commoner: 'Maybe goodness is just make-believe'.

Ikiru(1952)
Story: A Tokyo bureaucrat (Kanji Watanabe) is diagnosed with cancer and realizing his life has been meaningless, wants to make a difference before he dies. So, he takes up the cause of a group of mothers to turn a cesspool into a children's playground.

Seven Samurai(1954)
Story: Seven unemployed ronin (masterless Samurai) come together to defend a poor farming village from bandits. Seven Samurai deserves its status as one of the most influential films of all time because of its character depth and epic action scenes. It was remade as 'The Magnificent Seven' and inspired Western classics like 'The Dirty Dozen' and 'The Guns of Navarone'.

Best Scene – Kikuchiyo shows the other samurai the armor and weaponry that the farmers kept hidden.

Memorable quote – Kikuchiyo: 'Love your wives plenty tonight!'

Dersu Uzala(1975)
Story: Based on the 1923 memoir by Russian explorer Vladimir Arseniev, it is the story of his friendship with native tribesman Dersu Uzala, who becomes his expedition party's guide as they explore Siberia's Sikhote-Alin region.

Despite winning the Oscar for best foreign language film, it remains one of Kurosawa's most underrated masterpieces.

Best Scene – Dersu orders Arseniev to continue cutting stalks of grass, while the sun sets in the background and cold winds approach.

Memorable quote – Dersu: 'Why man live in box?'

Ran(1985)
Story: Kurosawa's magnum opus was his rendition of Shakespeare's King Lear. It tells the story of warlord Hidetora Ochimonji, who decides to abdicate the throne and divide his power between his three sons. The rivalry between them leads to the downfall of the kingdom and Hidetora.

At 12 million dollars, Ran was the most expensive Japanese film ever made and also the last time Kurosawa would work on such a grand scale.

Best Scene – The first battle scene

Memorable quote – Hidetora: 'Only the birds and beasts live in solitude'